9 Best Things to Buy at an Estate Sale

Estate sales can be a gold mine for shoppers in search of unique, high-quality goods at reasonable prices.

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Estate sales can be a gold mine for shoppers in search of unique, high-quality goods at reasonable prices. These include everything from clothing and jewelry to furniture and home décor. Keep in mind that you probably won't find the trendiest items at estate sales, but rather classic pieces that have stood the test of time -- and still have lots of life left in them.

If you're a novice, there's a host of dos and don'ts to shopping an estate sale. For starters, don't call it a garage sale. Estate sales are usually run by professionals and held when a homeowner passes away or moves to an assisted-living facility. Don't be surprised if virtually everything in a house is tagged for sale -- even appliances, fixtures and window treatments. As for the dos, do line up early to get a first look at what's available, and do haggle (though don't expect big markdowns until late in the day or on the last day of a multiday estate sale).

We talked with several estate sale experts about which items tend to be worth your money and time. Here's what they had to say.

Andrea Browne Taylor
Contributing Editor

Browne Taylor joined Kiplinger in 2011 and was a channel editor for Kiplinger.com covering living and family finance topics. She previously worked at the Washington Post as a Web producer in the Style section and prior to that covered the Jobs, Cars and Real Estate sections. She earned a BA in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She is Director of Member Services, at the National Association of Home Builders.